Sir Alex Ferguson has backed
Manchester United to prove they have put their blip in form behind them in their showdown with Marseille.

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney during a training session on Monday

United suffered successive Premier League defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool before bouncing back to beat Arsenal 2-0 and book their place in the semi-finals of the FA Cup at Old Trafford on Saturday.

On Tuesday night, they host Marseille in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with the two teams deadlocked at 0-0 after a tense first encounter.

The French champions have been in fine form since that match but, buoyed by Saturday’s result and with key players returning from injury, Ferguson believes United are in good shape as they head into the final stages of the season.

‘This is always the question, you lose a game and it is how you recover. Saturday’s performance brought that recovery,’ insisted the United boss.

‘[Marseille] is a different type of match. We need to get to a good level to win it.

‘We are experienced enough to do what we are doing at the moment and that is taking each game as it comes.’

Nani should play after returning to training a week after suffering a badly gashed leg against Liverpool.

Ferguson added: ‘It is an important time as we are involved in three tournaments.

‘The key is to have everyone available. If we do that it will definitely increase our chances of success.’